Virtual Conference Calls To Form Joint Committee To Lay Foundations For Remote Higher Education

An international conference on the challenges facing higher education in the post-coronavirus Islamic World has called to form a joint committee to lay the foundations for remote higher education.

Also, steps were taken to focus on reforming the curricula due to the requirements of the pandemic, and to ensure the delivery of a message of tolerance and coexistence.

Participants also recommended the creation of a committee to set quality standards for the new higher education and another one for legal and constitutional legislation related to distance higher education.

The World Muslim Communities Council, in partnership with the Association of Islamic Universities and a number of universities, Islamic colleges, institutions, bodies and relevant quality education agencies on higher education, organised an international scientific virtual conference, entitled "Challenges of Higher Islamic Education after Corona", on Saturday with more than 300 participants and representatives from 50 countries, via ZOOM and social media.

After the extensive discussions and research presented, approximately 53 scientific studies, the conference concluded with several recommendations: working to establish a global platform for distance learning in higher education, in which member universities participate to exchange experiences and expertise in this subject, and to produce materials and programmes in the field of virtual education to come up with selected and strong programmes that allow a review of curricula and programmes.

Qualifying university professors and administrative frameworks and training them on the new educational systems; adopting a set of applications for smartphones, as an approved method for distance education, and working to upgrade the curricula in a way that helps in circulating them in those apps; calling for intensifying coordination between the Association of Islamic Universities, the Association of Arab Universities and other bodies, with the World Muslim Communities Council to serve the future of higher Islamic education in Muslim communities.

And, returning the campus’s original stature and leadership role in producing graduates who are satiated and aware of the values of tolerance and peace.

The conference discussed the challenges of the coronavirus crisis, which represented a new and unprecedented turning point in the history of educational institutions, as these institutions were forced to conduct distance education during the closure period imposed by governments. This created a new reality that will lead education personnel to reconsider the higher education system, in terms of its philosophy, goals, systems, curricula, methods, activities and the world’s need for higher education, in light of the lack of vaccination for the virus. "Higher Islamic education is an integral part of this reality and will be subject to changes that will affect education systems throughout the world," according to conference recommendations.

At the end of the conference, the participants sent their thanks and gratitude to the United Arab Emirates and its wise leadership for its continuous efforts in serving humanity, wishing peace and security for it and its people, hoping that Allah would lift corona from all humanity. They also thanked the World Muslim Communities Council for its constant endeavour to serve the issues of Muslim societies and to maintain the continuity of communication with their representatives, as well as thanking the Association of Islamic Universities and the Council for organizing the conference.